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Hosting
Bluehost
I’m currently using Bluehost and I’m pretty happy with it at the minute. The plans start from $3.95, so it’s definitely one of the cheaper hosting platforms. But you get a lot for the money you put in. When you sign up for a hosting plan you get a free domain name, a free SSL certificate and 50 GB SSD Storage. Plus, if you find that you’re not too keen on the provider, there’s a 30-day money back guarantee so you don’t lose out on anything.
I’ve not had many issues with Bluehost as a hosting platform itself, but the customer service can be a bit hit or miss.
Website Theme
17th Avenue
At the moment I’m using the Mia theme by 17th Avenue. I really like the layout and the fact that it’s so customisable. The installation guide is quite simple to follow so I managed to set it up all by myself, although you can pay extra to have them do it for you.
The theme I used before this was Harper, again by 17th Avenue.
Legal Pages
Before publishing any content on your blog / website, it’s important to protect yourself and your business by making sure that you’ve got the right legal documents in place. Fortunately, you don’t need to speak to a lawyer or try to write these legal pages yourself, there are plenty of legal bundles you can buy.
Every website needs at least three key pages to be legally compliant: a Privacy Policy, a Disclaimer and a Terms & Conditions page. In A Self Guru’s Legal Bundle, you get templates for all three of these. All you then have to do is adapt them a little bit to fit your blog.
Stock Photos
I try to take my own photos whenever possible, but if for some reason I need to use stock photos instead, these are the places I source them from:
Courses
The She Approach To Making Pinterest Possible
If you’re a Pinterest beginner, this is the place to start. Ana gives such solid advice that really helps you get to grips with how Pinterest works. She explains the best practices to grow your monthly views and answers any questions you might have. It’s a really useful resource to refer back to every now and again (even if you have already read it from cover to cover).
In addition, buying the course means you have access to 15 free Pinterest templates on Canva and a $30 Tailwind discount. I’ll explain why this discount is so handy in the next section!
Use the code TSA5OFF for $5 off any of Ana’s eBooks or courses.
Social Media
Tailwind
Pinning everything manually on Pinterest requires a lot of time and planning. Using Tailwind really helps keep everything organised and means I can schedule all my pins in advance. I also like that the ‘Insights’ tab allows me to keep track of which pins are performing best and how my engagement levels have changed over the weeks.
If you’re serious about growing an audience on Pinterest, I really recommend using it. It suggests a pinning frequency that suits your needs and allows you to publish pins at specific times when your followers are most active.
Photography Equipment + Apps
Macro lens
If you’re really into close-up shots, then a macro lens is a must. I kept finding that my photos would look super blurry if I was too close to the object I was shooting. This really restricted what I could capture and meant that my pictures weren’t as detailed as I’d like them to be.
I’d read loads of great reviews about the Apexel HD Macro Lens and thought I’d give it a go. I’m so glad I did because this makes my pictures look amazing! Plus, there’s very little vignetting around the edges (like some of the other macro lenses I was looking at) so I really can’t complain about the quality for money.
Tripod
A tripod comes in super handy if you have shaky hands or if you want to include your hands in your shots. I find it particularly useful when I’m using my macro lens because, when there’s no movement, the images are cleaner and far less blurry.
I got the Soft Digits Phone Tripod as I really just needed something basic. This does the job and is a great piece of equipment to have. I especially like that the legs are bendable as this makes it possible to change the height and angle of the camera with relative ease.
Lightroom
I normally use Lightroom to edit my photos. A lot of the time I’ll make my own presets, but when I’m looking to save time I’ll go for pre-made ones. The MintAndPepper presets are my first choice. I tend to rotate between the Blogger, White and Blossom ones depending on the look I’m trying to achieve.
InShot
InShot is my go-to for creating video content. This app makes it so easy to create short clips for Instagram reels or stories. And I especially like that you can crop and change the speed of the clips so everything flows more seamlessly.
The transitions are also such a great way to make your videos look more professional. However, for most of these (and for your video to be watermark free) you’ll need to upgrade to the Pro subscription. It’s only £11.99 a year though, or £33.99 as a one time purchase, so it’s pretty affordable!
Props
Props can really make or break a shot. Here are a few that I use to take my Instagram and blog photography game up a notch.
